Then and Now: A view down SongZhi Road, Taipei

2007-2010

Not knowing of any easily accessible repository of historic images of Taipei, I'm making do with some of my own photos from the past few years. Fortunately, the city seems to grow fast enough in a few places for these montages to be decently interesting less than 3 years later.

This is part of the city's Xinyi district viewed from one of Taipei 101's elevated walkways. The 2007 photo shows the Citibank building still under construction, as well as one of the cranes for the now soon-to-be-completed President Hotel tower.

Then and Now: 107-115 South 11th Street, Philadelphia

1965-2009

Philadelphia has much to thank its educational and medical institutions for. In recent decades, despite the city's overall economic decline, these two sectors have achieved significant, stable growth, and now account for nearly 20 percent of the city's employment base.

Unfortunately, much of this growth came with a hidden cost - the steady erosion of the city's older streetscapes. Jefferson University Hospital proved to be a particularly bad neighbor for Washington Square West, replacing several dense, historic blocks with a series of faceless towers, thereby severing the connections between Market East and neighborhoods to its south.

Source: http://www.selectgreaterphiladelphia.com/data/employment/trends/employment.cfm
Original photo: Carollo, R. and John McWhorter. "Historic Commission-3300-12." 1965. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 14 Dec. 2009. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=107279

Then and Now: 335-341 South Street, Philadelphia

1930-2009

Commercial storefront awnings, once a ubiquitous presence in North American cities, have become somewhat of a rarity on South Street. Ishkabibble's Eatery, a true South Street institution at the age of 30, was the last of its neighbors to maintain an awning and a well-preserved storefront lintel/cornice. Presumably, the lintel is still there, "temporarily" hidden behind the new sign and light fixture installed several years ago.

Original image: Howell, Charles L. "Public Works-28479-0-F." 1930. Philadelphia City Archives. Phillyhistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 17 Dec. 2009. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=27723.

City Hall Tower views Then and Now, Los Angeles edition

1951-2009
(photo credits: Associated Press and Scott Harrison)

Seeing as the six Philadelphia City Hall tower posts from this past fall have proved fairly popular, I thought I'd start off the new year with a related link - an LA Times interactive feature which pairs six 1951 photographs from Los Angeles City Hall tower with new photographs taken nearly 50 years later.

The pictures reveal some of the striking large-scale transformations that have taken place in downtown LA, including the obliteration and reconstruction of Bunker Hill and the emergence of the Civic Center complex. Thanks to the relatively large image size of the carefully alignmed photographs, one can even spot plenty of changes on the level of individual blocks and buildings, including the replacement of entire blocks by single structures and the encroachment of surface parking. It's quite fascinating, even with little familiarity with the sprawling West Coast metropolis. Major kudos to the LA Times and photographer Scott Harrison.

Posting has been light as of late due to a busy end of the year and holiday season. Look forward to more content soon in 2010. Happy new year!

More mid-20th century photographs of Los Angeles [Skyscraperpage Forum]

Then and Now: Southwest corner of Montgomery and Anderson Avenues, Ardmore

1940 - 2009

The corner of Montgomery and Anderson Avenues was once the estate of one of Lower Merion Township's most prominent residents, Dr. George S. Gerhard, founder of Bryn Mawr Hospital. Built in the 1880s, the house was converted in the early 1920s into a residence hall for the newly consolidated Main Line YMCA, whose main building was then on Lancaster Avenue. Likely due to budget issues resulting from this arrangement, the Gerhard house was demolished and sold in early 1941. The YMCA reopened in 1956 in a new main facility across Montgomery Avenue, still used today. The former Gerhard estate has spent the last half-century as a parking lot for Suburban Square customers, sometimes referred to as "the Ruby's lot."

In 2008, the shopping center's owner, Kimco Realty, proposed replacing the lot with a mixed-use condominium complex. That suggestion was ultimately withdrawn following what seemed to be widespread opposition among nearby residents. Aside from standard concerns about height, scale, and traffic, one of their principle arguments was that development of the lot would jeopardize the planned Ardmore Transit Center. Anyhow, it's safe to say that the parking lot is here to stay for a while.

Sources:
1. Allison, Cheryl. "Abruptly, Ruby's lot plans withdrawn." Main Line Times 11 Dec. 2008.
2. "Lower Merion Atlases." Lower Merion Historical Society. 20 Dec. 2009. http://lowermerionhistory.org/atlas.html.
3. Schmidt, David. "The Main Line's YMCA has filled community needs for 95 years." Lower Merion Historical Society. 20 Dec. 2009. http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/schmidtd/ymca_for_95_years.html.
4. "The first 300: The amazing and rich history of Lower Merion (part 24)." Lower Merion Historical Society. 20 Dec. 2009. http://www.lowermerionhistory.org/texts/first300/part24.html.
Original photo: "2 W. Montgomery Ave." Lower Merion/Narberth Buildings. Lowermerionhistory.org. Lower Merion Historical Society. 20 Dec. 2009. http://lowermerionhistory.org/buildings/image-building-list.php?photo_id=7420.

Then and Now: The Mercantile Library, 1021 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

1962-2009

In 1954, ten years after joining Philadelphia's Free Library system, the Mercantile Library moved to Chestnut Street into a new building designed by local firm Martin, Stewart & Noble. The building immediately won widespread praise among the city's architectural community; Martin, Stewart & Noble were awarded 1954's Gold Medal from the Philadelphia chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Their design was acclaimed for having fulfilled the library's needs within a compact, storefront-sized space, and for its innovative adaptation of commercial design elements. The clean lines of its steel mullions, smooth glass facade, and distinctive signage make it a particularly elegant specimen of postwar Modernism in Philadelphia.

Sadly, after decades of shrinking tax revenues, the City of Philadelphia gradually became incapable of maintaining many of its facilities, including this one. The Mercantile Library shut its doors in 1989 due to a crumbling asbestos problem, and its collections were transferred to the Free Library's main branch on the Parkway. Due to daunting projected repair costs and an enormous maintenance backlog, the city ultimately chose to indefinitely close the library. Though the building was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1990, it has only continued to deteriorate, and substantial plant overgrowth is visible on its roof.

In 2004, the lot was transferred by the city to the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, which subsequently sold it to a private developer. However, the Mercantile Library's fate remains in limbo. There do not seem to be any current plans for its redevelopment, nor any substantial push for its preservation.

Sources:
1. "Fourth Annual Endangered Properties List." Preservation Matters. Dec. 2007. http://www.preservationalliance.com/files/news/Winter2007.pdf.
2. Wiegand, Ginny. "Library could be put on shelf." Philadelphia Inquirer. 4 Aug. 1990.
3. Maryniak, Paul. "City's building cup runneth over." Philadelphia Daily News. 26 Feb. 1991.
Original image: Carollo, R. "Historic Commission-49797-0." 1962. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 14 Dec. 2009. http://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/MediaStream.ashx?mediaId=108087.

Then and Now: 16th and Ranstead Streets looking southeast, Philadelphia

1936-2009

The two-story office and store building at 1535 Chestnut Street was built in 1936, and originally housed a men's clothing store and steamship company office. Today its ground floor is occupied by a nail salon and Rite Aid pharmacy.

Though not a particularly a particularly ornate building to begin with, it seems that its window panels and facade cladding have been replaced over the years. In 2008, the trees and planters were installed by the Center City District on the somewhat forlorn block to coincide with the opening of the Residences at Two Liberty Place, an office-condo conversion across 16th Street, whose dropoff area is pictured in the current view.

Source: Center City District. "Keeping Center City Green and Lush: CCD Spring Planting." Press Release. 21 Apr. 2008. 5 Dec. 2009. http://www.centercityphila.org/pressroom/prelease042108.php.
Original photo: Gee, William A. "Public Works-35968-0-B." 1936. Philadelphia City Archives. PhillyHistory.org. Philadelphia Department of Records. 16 Sep. 2009.